Begin by reading the introduction to RÊVE, look at the detailed guidelines for preparing an exhibit, and then spend some time exploring the exhibition and its collections more widely to get a feel of its purposes, contents, style, and arguments. In particular, you are trying to get a sense of what might make a place or object ‘Romantic’ – this might sum up the entirety of RÊVE’s own investigation. Once you have done that, you are ready to join in.
Then, identify and research ONE of the following:
EITHER a Romantic location (this could be near where you live, or one which you would like to visit, or which has now disappeared but you would have liked to visit)
OR a Romantic relic (something that you know exists, or once existed; you may or may not have actually seen it)
When it comes to designing your research, you will need to start with some research questions: typically, these might be: What is this object/place? Where is it? What is its history? In what ways and to whom has it been important? Then you will need to deploy some research techniques. These might include: exploring a museum’s online catalogue and/or conducting internet searches for related images, mentions of the object or place and people associated with it. You might be looking for textual references (made during the period or subsequently) in letters, diaries, articles etc. As always, with research, there may be some questions which have no answer. That does not mean they should not be asked…
Finally, write up your presentation. Use the standard template for presenting an exhibit to RÊVE i.e. 1 image, an opening paragraph describing the place or object and its general importance of no more than 300 words. In the rest of your presentation, develop the reasons why the place or object is interesting and worthy to be seen as emblematic of some aspect of European Romanticism. The whole article should be no longer than 1000 words and written in a crystal-clear style calculated to engage the interested public.
If you feel short of ideas, click here for a few examples to get your imagination going…